http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/ Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:34:04 -0800 Yahoo! http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/rocksbackpages/13023/the-rocks-backpages-flashback-just-how-good-were-the-strokes/ Their frontman Julian Casablancas has just released a well-received solo album, but were--are?--the Strokes really much cop? Here's Ira Robbins' astute contemporary response to the hype surrounding the band when their debut album appeared in 2001. Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:33:50 -0800 Ira Robbins http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/rocksbackpages/13013/the-rocks-backpages-flashback-the-clash-calling/ It is 30 long years since The Clash released their ground-breaking, shapeshifting double album London Calling. In this terrific Melody Maker interview with Joe Strummer, Chris Bohn gets the lowdown on "Clampdown" and many of the album's other tracks. Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:24:18 -0800 Chris Bohn (1979) http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/rocksbackpages/12993/the-rocks-backpages-flashback-captain-beefheart-is-alive-in-hollywood/ Almost 40 years ago, Don Van Vliet--aka Captain Beefheart--released one of the most extraordinary rock albums ever made. Swinging London legend (Barry) Miles met the Captain on the eve of Trout Mask Replica's release. Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:31:13 -0800 Miles (1969) http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/rocksbackpages/12961/the-rocks-backpages-flashback-raps-black-planet/ Almost 20 years have shot by since Q's Mark Cooper traveled to America to report on the shock waves caused by Public Enemy and NWA. Seems an apt time to salute these avatars of hip hop, so here's an excerpt... Sat, 24 Oct 2009 19:35:00 -0800 Mark Cooper (1990) http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/rocksbackpages/12959/the-rocks-backpages-flashback-david-bowie-has-left-the-theatre/ David Bowie's makeover from the apocalyptic androgyne of 1974's Diamond Dogs to the emaciated "plastic soul" man of 1975's Young Americans was one of the more startling self-reinventions in the history of rock.NME's Mick Farren was there to see the leopard change his spots. Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:03:01 -0800 Mick Farren (1974) http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/rocksbackpages/12933/the-rocks-backpages-flashback-remembering-brendan-mullen-and-the-la-punk-scene/ The shocking and wholly unexpected death of Brendan Mullen after a massive stroke at the age of 58 prompted me to pull out this Village Voice review of We Got the Neutron Bomb, the great 2001 oral history of L.A.'s punk scene that he co-authored with Marc Spitz. Mullen's club the Masque--celebrated in a subsequent photographic collection published in 2007--was a key breeding ground for bands such as X and the Weirdos. The fiery Scotsman and adoptive Angeleno was a West Coast legend and will be deeply missed. Sat, 17 Oct 2009 00:12:43 -0800 Barney Hoskyns http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/rocksbackpages/12920/the-rocks-backpages-flashback-the-unstoppable-rise-of-an-imperfect-angel/ The diva with the multi-octave pipes is back with her Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel. Mat Snow met the lady in question as her career skyrocketed in the late summer of 1991 Sat, 10 Oct 2009 00:02:04 -0800 Mat Snow (1991) http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/rocksbackpages/12904/list-o-mania-rbps-10-best-career-shifts-in-pop-history/ Rob Steen presents 10 of the most seminal "direction changes" in rock's illustrious history, from Dylan and the Beatles to Talking Heads and Radiohead--with three substitutes for backup. Fri, 09 Oct 2009 01:08:50 -0800 Rob Steen http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/rocksbackpages/12900/nick-cave-the-novelist-the-death-of-bunny-munro/ Leyla Sanai gets to grips with the Australian singer's second novel -the long-awaited follow-up to 1989's And the Ass Saw the Angel. She's highly impressed. Wed, 07 Oct 2009 23:26:31 -0800 Leyla Sanai http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/rocksbackpages/12888/the-rocks-backpages-flashback-the-mamas-and-the-papas/ Mackenzie Phillips' revelations about her Papa prompt us to revisit this snapshot of life among pop's royalty in the heyday of Swinging London, summer 1966 Mon, 05 Oct 2009 18:29:16 -0800 Keith Altham (1966)